


this is what it feels like

by RRHand



Series: falling in love just a little ol' little bit [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Monsters, Billy Hargrove is a Little Shit, Billy is Max's dad, Dad Billy Hargrove, First Meetings, Harringrove, Lawyer!Billy, M/M, Modern Era, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship, Steve Harrington is a Sweetheart, Teacher Steve Harrington, Teacher!Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26899081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RRHand/pseuds/RRHand
Summary: Steve feels like Robin could've given him a warning. Something in the lines of'he's hot as hell, prepare yourself'. But she didn't, and when Maxine's dad, William Hargrove, strutted into Steve's classroom, he was definitely unprepared for it.a.k.a. Steve is a teacher, Billy is a hotshot lawyer and Robin is, most definitely, having fun on the sidelines.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: falling in love just a little ol' little bit [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976869
Comments: 6
Kudos: 191





	this is what it feels like

**Author's Note:**

> hi there! i said something about dad harringrove au in twitter and my timeline was like 'uh, u know what? teacher steve and dad billy would be better' and they were right. so, here we go, dad!billy and teacher!steve. hope you enjoy it!

Steve runs his hands through his hair and pours himself another cup of coffee. Sure, it’s his fourth of the day and it’s like 8p.m. already but well, if there’s a day Steve lets himself drink a bit more than he should, today’s the day. _Parent-teacher conference day_. He shudders just by thinking about it, even though he’s almost done with his student’s parents.

Yes, Steve loves being a teacher, especially a preschool teacher. He loves the children and he loves helping them through the most important moments of their formative years. But there’s a bad side to everything and, to teaching, the bad side is, more often than not, the parents. Most of them are fine, they care about their kids and want to be present and respect Steve and the job he does. But a few of them are surprisingly forceful, overbearing and plain tiring to deal with. 

Last year, 2019, was a good one. All of his students were great and most of the parents were too, he only had to handle a couple of asshole parents, which, in his books, makes a fine year. 

This year, though, he is paying for all the sins and crimes he ever thought about committing. The majority of the parents are a pain in his - in his humble opinion, very nice - ass. And the children, surprising no one at all, are to the image of their folks and are little pricks. He had to separate small little fights in the first three months of class enough to last him a lifetime.

Hence, he’s tired. It’s close to the end of the night, he talked with 9 parents and knows that he will have to deal with Peter Johnson’s mom and dad and their hetero, conservative bullshit yet, so yeah, he’s going to drink another cup of coffee. 

Robin peeks her head through the door. “Hey, doofus.”

He waves and sits down on his chair, knowing what she’s going to say. 

“Hey, Robs. Who’s up?”

“Maxine’s dad is waiting.” 

“Alright, send him in, please.” 

She does that finger-gun thing of hers and disappears. Steve grabs Maxine’s file, that is a little bigger than her classmates. Steve likes Maxine and her fiery-red hair and her energy, but he can see that she definitely can be a little more aggressive than necessary sometimes.

Steve rises his head quickly when he hears two raps on the door and _damn, that is a fine man_. He is leaning in the door’s jamb, wearing a dark green three-piece suit with a gold chain brooch dangling in the left side of his muscled chest. He’s got blond curls that look extremely silky, a well-kept beard a shade darker than his hair and the bluest eyes Steve has ever seen. There’s a confident smirk in the plush, pink lips and Steve’s so, so fucked. 

How is he supposed to pay attention to the conversation when Maxine’s father is looking like this in Steve’s classroom?

He smiles. “Hi there, you must be Mr. Hargrove! Come in, please!”

Mr. Hargrove leaves the door, closing it behind him, and - god help Steve - outright struts to the chairs in front of Steve’s desk. 

“Mr. Harrington, is that right?” The blond asks as they shake hands. Mr. Hargrove has some nice, thick, big hands that Steve feels like drooling over, but since he is, no matter what Robin says, a profissional, he does not drool over his student’s father’s hand. 

“Oh, just ‘Steve’ is fine, really.”

“Well, then I’m just ‘Billy’, then.” 

Steve grins and pulls Maxine’s file closer, opening it on the first page. 

“Mr. Har-” he interrupts himself. “Billy, it’s a pleasure to meet you. It’s very nice putting a face to the name. Maxine talks a lot about you.”

Billy laughs and settles deeper in the chair. Steve very pointedly does not look at how the now open suit shows off the man’s slender waist hugged tightly by the vest. 

“She talks a lot about everything, I’m sure I’m not special.” Billy looks incredibly fond and that transforms his face in a manner that only fatherhood can. 

Steve snorts. “If she was here, I assure you she would disagree with that statement,” he says. “Alright,” Steve changes the subject, because it doesn’t matter that he could stay here, bantering with Billy for much longer, they still have a tight schedule. “I just need to ask you a few questions so I can complete her file, then we can get right down to talking about how great she is!”

“Sounds good to me,” the blond answers.

“So, you’re a lawyer, right?”

“Yes, I have my own law firm, H&H, it’s about two blocks from here.”

“Oh,” Steve says, writing it down. “How nice to work close to your daughter. But, if you don’t mind me asking,” Billy does a _go ahead_ gesture with his hand. “H&H, who’s the other H?”

“That would be Heather Holloway,” he cracks open a smile. “We became friends in law school and, when we had the change, opened up a firm together. If you ask her, my job in the office is to make her life harder,” he scoffs jokingly and Steve laughs. The brunet can’t help but to think of Robin and their reluctant best friends situation.

“Okay, your prefered method of contact is cell phone, is that right?”

“Exactly.”

“Last one,” Steve takes a big breath. “Is Max’s mother out of the picture?”

Billy tenses a bit in the chair before nodding. 

“Yeah, Maxine started living with me about three years ago, when she was two. Her mother isn’t a fan of visiting, but she calls, once in a blue moon.” he sneers. This is more than enough information for Steve, but Billy isn’t done yet. “You’ll probably know when her mother calls. Max gets sad and frustrated that Alicia - that’s her mother’s name - won’t come to see her, then she gets angry and rides that anger for a couple of days.”

Steve feels both for Max and for Billy. It isn’t easy, he knows, not having a parent around, but it also isn’t easy being around and not being enough. No matter how much Billy tries, he’ll never cover that hole in Max’s chest that cries for her mother, and they both know that. The only thing Steve can hope to do is help a little. 

“Well, don’t you worry about that. Someone already told you this, I’m sure, but it’s normal for her to miss her mother and there’s quite nothing you can do but to be there for her.” Billy is relaxing with each word Steve says. “And we have got other students that don’t have both parents around, so she’s not alone in that prospect.” 

They take a deep breath and Steve continues.

“Well, Maxine has been adapting very well, even with the two situations that he had to send you notes.”

“Yeah,” Billy agrees, leaning forward. “I can see some changes, too. Last year, I would get a note at least once every two weeks, but she’s calmer now.”

“I wouldn’t even call her calmer, but maybe more controlled, less confrontational.” Steve flips a few pages in the girl file. “It’s mentioned here that she’s seeing a therapist. Is this still going on?”

“Yes, it is,” Billy runs his right hand through his hair and _goddamn_ it looks so smooth. “She’s been seeing the therapist you guys indicated, Dr. Byers, for about three months now and she’s good to Maxine, but I feel like I must thank you too.” 

He gestures to Steve and his eyes are very genuine on Steve’s.

“Me? Oh, no, Joyce’s very good. I’m sure the credit is all hers.”

“Yes, you,” Billy argues. “The 10-second rule to calm down was one of the first things that Maxine learned, but she wasn’t able to use it in her daily life until you stepped in and started to help her through those moments.” 

Steve can feel his cheeks warning - it’s always nice to be complimented in your job, right? Billy grins in response. Steve checks the clock in his desk just to see that their twenty minutes is winding up.

“I’m just doing my job, really. We can’t expect a 5-year-old to remember relaxation techniques on their own when they’re angry, huh?” Steve closes Maxine’s file and puts his elbows on the desk, his hands clasped in front of him, and looks at Billy. 

“That’s about it, on my end. Do you have anything else you want to discuss about Max?”

“No, everything's covered.” Billy gets up and Steve follows his lead. He closes his suit in a smooth and extremely confident motion. _This man sure knows how to work a suit._

They move to the door, Steve a few steps behind Billy. 

“Again, very nice to meet you, Billy,” Steve says as they shake hands. 

“You too, Steve. See you in two months?” The blond asks with an easy smile in the middle of the preschool’s hallway. 

“Yes, you will.”

Billy winks and then he's gone in a flash of green fabric. Steve remains there for a few seconds until Robin is sliding next to him, looking like the cat that got the bird. 

“Nice,” she draws out the word, gesturing to where Billy left. “I mean, he’d be out of my league even if I wanted to hit that, but nice, right?”

He turns to her, narrowing her eyes. “You couldn’t have given me a warning? I don’t know, anything like ‘ _prepare yourself, he’s extremely hot’_. It would’ve done the trick.”

“Nahhh,” she laughs, like the terrible, terrible person that she is. “where’s the fun in that?”

Steve crackles. “C’mon, Rob.” 

She just laughs more. “At least,” she winks three times in a roll like a dork. “You’re going to see him in two months, huh huh?”

“Get out of here,” he giggles, mock-pushing Rob away from him, and if he’s thinking about charming blue eyes, it’s his problem and no one else’s.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed it! kudos and comments are super welcome! if you enjoy my work, please consider supporting me! see you guys next time!


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